Influencer flees Australia after taking baby wombat from its mother in distressing footage
An American influencer who shared distressing footage showing herself taking a baby wombat from its mother has fled Australia.
Officials made it clear Sam Jones was no longer welcome in the country in wake of the incident, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese branded an 'outrage'.
The Montana-based content creator, who touts herself as a 'wildlife biologist and environmental scientist', sparked fury on social media after sharing the shocking video.
It showed Jones laughing as she picks up a baby wombat from the side of the road and runs towards her vehicle, while the joey's mother is seen frantically following her.
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As she held the visibly-agitated animal up to the camera, Jones said while grinning: "I caught a baby wombat!"
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The wombat appeared to make hissing sounds while attempting to wriggle out of Jones' clutches - which campaigners say are telltale signs that the animal was in distress.
The influencer seemed to be aware of the upset she was causing to both the mother and child as Jones then remarked: "Okay, mom is right there...and she is p**sed. Alright, let's let him go."
The footage then shows her placing the joey back on the side of the road, while attempting to facilitate a reunion with it's parent, as she yelled out: "Come here mama, come here!"
Jones, who also goes by the name Samantha Strable, was met by sheer disgust online after the clip went viral and Aussies called for her to be deported.
An online petition calling for her to be shown the door reportedly gained more than 30,000 signatures.
The online star, who boasts nearly 100,000 followers, later deleted the Instagram post and has since made her account private.
Anger erupted among politicians in Australia, who branded the stunt 'cruel', while emphasising that this is no way for a guest in the country to behave.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged Jones to see how she'd get on while toying with less forgiving animals in a furious statement.
"[Wombats] are gentle, lovely creatures...I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she should try some other Australian animals, maybe she should try a crocodile.
"Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there. Take another animal that can actually fight back rather than stealing a baby wombat from its mother."
Australia's Home Affairs minister Tony Burke announced that his department was looking into revoking Jones' visa in response to the footage.
Explaining they would investigate 'whether immigration law has been breached', he said at the time: "Either way, given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I’ll be surprised if she even bothers. I can't wait for Australia to see the back of this individual, I don't expect she will return."
However, Jones had already cut and run before officials had the chance to kick her out.
"There has never been a better time to be a baby wombat," Burke said on Friday (14 March).
It is not clear whether the government would have had grounds to terminate Jones' visa, as she has not been charged with a crime or deemed a threat to the nation.
The American attempted to clarify the situation in since-deleted comments on her post, according to the BBC.
She claimed that the baby wombat was 'carefully held for one minute in total and then released back to mom' before 'they wandered back off into the bush together completely unharmed'.
"I don't ever capture wildlife that will be harmed by my doing so," Jones added.
However, wildlife experts aren't so sure - as Yolandi Vermaak, founder of animal care charity Wombat Rescue, warned that it's mother could have rejected her offspring after Jones' interference.
She told Sky News: "My biggest concern is that we didn't actually see mum and baby getting reunited. When she put it down, it looked disorientated.
"It was turned away from where the mother was last seen. So we don't know if mum and baby actually found each other again."
Vermaak also claimed the footage appeared to show that the joey was suffering from a skin disease and urged Jones' to reveal the location of the video.
"The baby has mange and it's a matter of time before it dies of mange, so it's important for us to find where this happened and to get this baby and its mum treated as soon as possible," she added.
The Wombat Protection Society also slammed Jones for the 'appalling video' of her 'mishandling a wombat joey in an apparent snatch for social media likes'.
"The individual, who appeared to have no understanding of wombat behaviour or the severe stress caused by human interference and separation from its mother, She then placed the vulnerable baby back onto a country road—potentially putting it at risk of becoming roadkill," it said in a statement.
"There is no clear evidence that the joey was successfully reunited with its mother. A baby of this size is highly dependent on its mother, and prolonged separation could have fatal consequences. Additionally, without proper training in wildlife handling, the tourist not only risked injuring the joey but also putting herself in danger."
Wombats are a legally protected species in Australia and maintain a close bond with their parent even after emerging from it's mother's pouch.
National Geographic explains that joeys 'frequently crawl back in [the pouch] to feed or to escape danger'.
Olivia Burke